Stenciling devices



S. N. ROSENTHAL STENCILING DEVICES Filed Dec.

Sept. 4, 1962 INVENTOR.

SIDNEY N. ROSENTl-IAL BY Viki . ATTORNEYS United St-tes atent' "I Filed Dec. 19, 1960, Ser- No. 76,825 1 Claim. (Cl. 15-563) This invention relates to stenciling devices used for rubbing ink upon a surface to be stenciled.

My prior patent, No. 2,873,464, issued February 17, 1959, discloses a stenciling device or stenciling nib which has a handle and a napped mohair fabric ink applying face, whose individual hairs are electrostatically charged to repel one another and thus to remain normal to the face of the nib.

One object of the present invention is to improve said stenciling device by providing it with rollers on its base so that the base can be moved upon the surface to be stenciled with a minimum of friction between the fabric facing of the device and such surface and so that only the ends of the hairs of the napped pile fab-ric contact the surface to be stenciled to thus eliminate matting of the fabric and also to control the quantity of ink applied by the fabric to the surface.

Another object of this invention is to provide rollers on the nib face, which rollers automatically space the device a predetermined distance from the surface to be inked, and as a result prevent the fabric from becoming matted or crushed to thus prolong the life of the device substan tially.

A further object is to provide roller means on the device which will space the fabric face a predetermined distance from an inking pad so that only the ends of the fabric nap contact the pad to limit the amount of ink that can be absorbed by the device and prevent the device from absorbing an excess amount of ink. This insurm against smudging that arises when an excess amount of ink is transmitted to the device.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent by reading the following description, of which the attached drawings form a part.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a stenciling nib.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but shows certain parts in cross-section.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary view of a roller or ball and the napped fabric.

The stenciling device or nib comprises a handle portion 11 and a head portion 12. The head portion is formed of a flat base 14 having an integral, peripheral, threaded flange which is threadedly secured to an enlarged threaded portion 15 of the handle portion.

The underside of the base is covered with a layer of blotting material 16. A felt pad 17 is applied against the blotting material and a napped pile fabric 18 is drawn tightly over the felt and firmly secured to the base by having its edges 19 held against the flange 14 by an encircling collar or ring 20' so that the edges 19 are frictionally gripped between the collar 20 and the flange 14.

The napped fabric is formed of individual hairs 22 secured to a fabric backing 23 (see FIG. 4). Thus, the bottom of the head is formed as a flat face from which the individual hairs of the nap project.

As described in the above mentioned Patent No. 2,87 3,- 464, the napped material may be formed of mohair or the like fabric. Mohair is formed of Angora hairs woven into a nylon or similar type fabric face material and is found to be ideally suited for the purposes described herein. The nap or hairs of the fabric may be electrostatically or electrically charged so that the individual hairs tend to repel one another and stand straight and normal to the surface of the fabric. This method of treating napped fabric is well known in the fur processing arts. Thus, when the fabric is rubbed over the stencil and the surface to be stenciled, the individual hairs of the nap tend to remain rigid and straight and will not pass underneath the stencil to thereby smudge the ink applied to the surface. Preferably, the nap is cut short so that the hairs do not curl under the stencil edges.

The pressure upon the napped fabric causes ink to flow through this fabric upon the surface to be stenciled. The felt pad acts as an ink storage means and the ink flows from it through the napped fabric to the surface. The blotting material functions as an additional ink storage means to absorb excess ink from the felt and to release the ink back to the felt as needed.

The collar 20, which may be formed of a resilient plastic, surrounds the stenciling head and the peripheral edge of the exposed napped face of the fabric, as shown in FIG. 3. The bottom edge or face of the collar is formed flat and substantially coplanar with the bottom flat face of the head. Regularly spaced apart sockets 27 are formed in the collar bottom edge of a size and shape to receive rollers which are in the form of uniform size spheres or balls 28. The balls are pressed into the socket with the socket material resiliently spreading to receive the balls. Once the balls are pressed into the sockets, the balls remain there and may be rolled or rotated therein.

The rollers or balls project beneath the collar a predetermined amount to space the bottom of the head a predetermined amount above a surface to be stenciled, hence maintaining the hairs 22 straight except for the bottom tips thereof which contact the surface S (see FIG. 4).

The rollers function to reduce the friction when the head is rubbed upon the surface S. They also prevent the hairs of the nap from being crushed and matted back against the bottom of the head. In addition, by limiting contact only to the ends of the hairs of the napped pile fabric, the flow of ink to the surface is controlled to eliminate the application of excess ink. Also, the rollers space the head from the inking surface of an ink pad, which is commonly used to supply ink to the device prior to stenciling and as a result limit and thus control the amount of ink that is absorbed by the felt 17 to prevent over-ink- This invention may be further developed within the scope of the following attached claims. Accordingly, it is desired that the foregoing description be read as being merely illustrative of an operative embodiment of this invention and not in a strictly limiting sense.

I now claim:

A stenciling nib for applying ink upon a surface to be stenciled, comprising a support base having a flat face provided with a napped pile fabric facing whose nap is exposed; a handle secured to the base opposite its flat face for rubbing the exposed nap against the surface to be stenciled; and rollers mounted on the base outside the periphery of the fabric for spacing the base from the surface a predetermined amount and thus aiding the base to be moved upon the surface with a minimum of friction between the fabric and such surface and thus minimizing contact between the fabric and the surface so that such contact is only at the ends of the hairs of the napped pile fabric.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Emanuelson Apr. 10, 1917 Hughes Dec. 28, 1937 Pollock Dec. 31, 1946 Rosenthal Feb. 17, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain .i a Apr. 30, 1923 

